Ascent to Lluc on foot from the Foreigner Part

The climb to Lluc on foot from the Foreigner Part is undoubtedly the most deep-rooted and multitudinous traditional pilgrimage in Mallorca. Foreigner Part means the entire island of Mallorca except Palma. It is organized by the Association of Old Blauets (Blauets is the popular name by which the Escolania de Lluc is known because of the blue cassock worn by the singing children). In 2021, this great pilgrimage (with twelve thousand pilgrims) reached its fortieth edition in its modern format.

Pilgrims leave between afternoon and evening from more than forty villages on the island. Lately, about ten thousand pilgrims participate every year. It is traditional for walkers who depart from the villages of El Pla, El Llevant, El Migjorn and Ciutat (which make up the most important group) to meet in the wee hours of the morning in the Plaza del Bestiar d’Inca. Then, they head towards Selva, Caimari and finally take the Camí Vell de Lluc (cobbled for most of its route), through Ca’n Càntara, the Bretxa Vella, the Coll de sa Batalla and the sanctuary of Lluc. From Caimari to Lluc along the Camí Vell, there is a distance of 8.5km and a difference in altitude of 460m. Pilgrims from other regions go up to Lluc directly and by different paths: those from Sóller through the Barranc de Biniaraix and the Gorg Blau (following part of the route of the current GR-221 and then the Ma-10 road) and those from Pollença through the Vall d’en Marc, the estate of Muntanya and Binifaldó. All the marchers of Mallorca converge at dawn at the sanctuary of Lluc.

Early in the morning, pilgrims are welcomed near the Font Coberta with chocolate and ensaimadas. Then, in the Plaça dels Pelegrins, there is a dance of giants and music of xeremies. In the space of the Reception, a concelebrated mass is held, presided over by the bishop of Mallorca and with the singing of the Blauets. Throughout the morning, there is a popular dance of ball de bot, the traditional dance of the island. Currently, most pilgrims return home in the morning by vehicle (they used to stay there to sleep).

Lluc is the most important Marian sanctuary in Mallorca, the temple of the Virgin of Lluc, patron saint of the island. It is a place full of spiritual and community significance, the center of island hiking and today an important tourist destination. Its origins must be traced back to the thirteenth century. The most important extension was made at the beginning of the twentieth century, under the impetus of Bishop Campins and the architect Antoni Gaudí; Father Joaquim Rosselló, founder of the congregation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts, who ran the sanctuary between 1891 and 2019, when the sanctuary passed into the hands of the Bishopric of Mallorca, was prior. The space is structured around the Pilgrims’ Square, where we admire the Porches (sixteenth century), and has as its center the basilica (seventeenth century), in Renaissance style, with the Gothic image of the Virgin of Lluc, which enjoys great popular devotion.

– Path of the Mysteries. Cobbled processional path dedicated to the Mysteries of the Rosary, which leads to the large cross located at the top of the hill, also known as the Mysteries, and which constitutes a beautiful viewpoint of the region. It is the point where tradition places the discovery of the image of the Virgin of Lluc. We admire five large monuments with three bronze medallions each, the work of the sculptor Josep Llimona. This access was opened at the beginning of the twentieth century.
-Botanical garden. Founded in 1956, it has more than two hundred species of mountain flora, especially from the Tramuntana mountain range.
-Joys. Linked to this pilgrimage, it is worth mentioning the seven boundary crosses (popularly called goigs) that once lined the Camí Vell de Lluc, and which allude to the Seven Joys of the Virgin Mary. Today, only two are preserved: one, from the fifteenth century, can be admired in the Plaça dels Pelegrins itself, and the other, from the seventeenth century, in the neighbouring square of Ca s’Amitger.

Joys to the Virgin of Lluc

Lyrics of Mn. Pere Joan Llabrés i Martorell (1938-2006)

 

For you are a cause of joy

for the farmer and the citizen,

to Lluc make us go up

singing joys, Virgin Mary.

 

“Ave, full Virgin Mary”,

Gabriel greets you

That’s why the people feel

“Ave” prays to you.

Good News announces us

in Mallorca the name Llucà.

 

How you rejoice, Virgin Mary,

the holy night of Bethlehem

when you have the supreme honor

Son of God the Father.

May Christ be born every day

in the heart of every Christian,

to Lluc make us go up

singing joys, Virgin Mary.

 

Queen assumed, crowned

of seven joys eternally,

lead us promising

that in heaven we have entrance.

He who goes up to Lluc well chooses

that will come to your house.

 

From every village and farmhouse,

of Inca, Sóller, Muro, Artà…

to Lluc make us go up

singing joys, Virgin Mary.